Display rack



Get. 25, 1938. 'cj'r. LUNDSTROM ET AL 2,134,633

DISPLAY RACK Filed May 22, 1937 A T'TORNEYJ.

Patented Oct. 25, 1938 PATENT oFFice DISPLAY RACK Carl T. Lundstrom and Edward. A. McLaughlin,

Terre Haute, Ind;

ApplicationMay 22, 1937, Serial. No; 144,259.

1 Claim; (Cl. 211-149) The: present applicationrelates to a display rack. The primary objectof: the invention is to provide-a'rack of improved appearance and mechanical construction which shallprovide. a maximum of shelf. space: for. display: purposes: and" yet which shall be sov constructed that it may be folded intoa compact,.flat. package, for transportation. A. further. object. of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which, when assembled for use-shall be extreme- 1y rigid, in spite of its folding characteristics. Further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, our invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawing, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawing is illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claim is not violated.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a rack constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3 is a fragmental vertical section take substantially in the plane of line 3-3 of Fig. l and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental horizontal section taken substantially in the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmental horizontal section taken substantially in the plane of line 55 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmental section taken substantially in the plane of line 6-6 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, it will be seen that I have illustrated a rack comprising a substantially rectangular back frame 40 I0, said frame being preferably formed of tubing bent to provide lateral uprights II, a top piece 12, and abottom piece l3. Preferably, feet 14 are suitably secured to the bottom piece l3 of the back frame Hi. If desired, the back may be suit- 45 ably braced by cross rods l5 secured in aligned apertures in the lateral uprights ll thereof.

A side wing frame I6 is likewise preferably formed from tubing bent into a substantially rectangular shape to provide lateral uprights I1 and 18, a top piece I9 and a bottom piece 2|], feet 2i being preferably secured to the bottom piece 20. Preferably, the frame [6 is suitably braced by crossbars 22 secured at their opposite ends in 55 aligned apertures in the lateral uprights l1 and 'ternal diameter substantially equal to the inl8. A second substantially allochiral. side wing frame 56 is provided;

The reference numerals 23, 24, and: 25' indicate generally shelves or. trays, each of. which comprises a substantially rectangular. frame. prefterably 1 formed of 1 strip." metal bent: to. form front and rea edges 26:and 2i and joining endpieces: Hand. 29; each of said frameslcarryingtausheet 30 of expanded metal or other preferably foraminous material. As will be readily seen from 10 a consideration of Figs. 3 and 4, each shelf frame actually comprises two pieces of strip metal, the portions 29, 21, and 28 thereof being specifically shown. Said two pieces of strip metal are clamped. together to secure therebetween the 15 downturned edges 3i of sheet 39.

The side wing frames l6 and I6 are suitably hinged to the lateral uprights H of the back frame l6. Preferably, said side Wing frames are hinged through the medium of straps 32, one of 20 which is illustrated in detail in Fig. 5. Each of the straps 32 comprises a semi-cylindrical end portion 33 embracing an upright II, a semicylindrical portion 34 embracing an upright I! or ll, and side portions 35 and 36 joining the 25 end portions 33 and 34. Preferably, the major dimension of each strap 32 exceeds the sum of the diameters of the uprights H and H or IT, whereby each side wing frame may be folded into a plane parallel with the plane of the back 30 frame I0, to lie flat against said back frame In.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated a preferred means for joining the ends of the tubing from which the frames are formed. A tube 31 having an external diameter of the tube the ends of which are to be joined, is inserted into the two adjacent ends thereof; and is secured in place by screws 38, one or more of which preferably penetrates each of the tubing ends to be joined. 7 40 The shelves 23, 24, and 25 are pivotally suspended from the lateral uprights ll of the back frame H) through the medium of pins 39 projecting laterally from each end of each shelf adjacent the rear edge thereof. If desired, said pins 39 may be extensions of the screws whereby the strips 28 and 29' are clamped to the strips 28 and 29. Each of said pins 39 projects into a suitably formed aperture in an upright ll of the back frame ill; and it will be understood that oppositely projecting pins 39 carried by each shelf will be received in aligned apertures in the two respective uprights ll of the back frame II].

The lateral uprights I8 and I8 of the respective side wing frames l6 and I6 carry respectively a plurality of brackets 40 or 40, the number of brackets being equal to the number of shelves or trays in the organization. Each bracket 40 or 40 is secured in place by a screw 4| or 4| projecting into a suitably formed threaded aperture in the upright I'8 or l8; and each bracket 40 or 40' comprises a laterally pro jecting portion 42 or 42' formed with an aperture 43 or 43'. As is clearly shown in Fig. 1, the laterally projecting portions 42 and 42 project toward each other, when the rack is in set-up condition.

It will be clear that the portions 42 or 42' of the brackets 40 or 40' form .supports for the free edges of the respective trays 23, 24 and 25. Preferably, the brackets 40 or 40' are so positioned that, when the organization is assembled, the trays are inclined to the horizontal, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The projection of the pins 44 and 44 through the apertures formed in the bracket portions 42 and 42 positively locks the side wing frames l6 and I6 against movement about their hinge axes; thereby making the entire assembled rack extremely rigid.

When it is desired to fold the rack to transport it, the pins 44 and 44 are disengaged from the bracket apertures 43 and 43', and the trays are swung into vertical positions. The side wing frames [6 and I6 are then swung inwardly to lie parallel to, and substantially flat against, the

back frame In; whereby a flat, compact package for transportation is provided.

We claim as our invention:

A display rack comprising a back frame formed of a one-piece tubular member bent into substantially rectangular formation, two side frames each formed of a single tubular member bent to provide a substantially rectangular structure, said side frames being hinged respectively to the uprights of the back frame through the medium of at least two straps surrounding the upright of the back frame and an upright of the side frame to provide a flat folding hinge connection between the side frames and the back frame, a plurality of trays hingedly mounted between the uprights of the back frame and supporting means on each of the front uprights of the side frame for each of said trays interlocking with said trays to prevent the lateral displacement of the side frames relative thereto, and downwardly extending feet on said back frame and each of said side frames for supporting the same in a substantially rigid upright position.

CARL T. LUNDS'IROM.

EDWARD A. McLAUGHLIN.

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